Signet Climbs Up List of Top 100 Retailers

RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers saw its position surge on a 2021 National Retail Federation (NRF) list of the top 100 retailers, which ranks companies based on annual retail sales.The retailer - the only jewelry specialist to make the 2021 list - came in at number 78, the NRF data showed Tuesday. That spot is well above last year's ranking of 98. In 2019, it failed to make the list. Walmart maintained its number-one spot, with Amazon, The Kroger Company, The Home Depot and Costco rounding out the top five. Other companies that carry jewelry grabbed spots, with Macy's placing 24th, Nordstrom 48th and J.C. Penney 54th. The list is based on sales for the most recently completed fiscal year, the NRF noted. Signet had already built up its e-commerce capabilities before the coronavirus pandemic and the forced lockdown of its stores, the jeweler noted in past financial results. That likely helped it advance during the 2020 fiscal year."Companies that invested heavily in 'buy online, pick up in-store' in 2018 and 2019 were losing money on it then," the NRF cited David Marcotte, senior vice president at consultants Kantar, as saying. "In 2020, it all paid off. If you didn't have that capability, you had to scramble to build it."However, the NRF warned that companies in the top 100 might have trouble holding on to their spots, as logistics and supply-chain issues would be a major determining factor for business success during 2021.While 2020 was the year of the toilet-paper shortage, 2021 saw thousands of products impacted, Marcotte continued. "These shortages are much worse than what you're picking up here and there in the news. I'm not sure it's going to go. Every single direction I look is concerning," he added.Image: The Signet Jewelers headquarters in Akron, Ohio. (Signet Jewelers)